Hi Viking, i just started reading fantasy 3-4 months ago and was mesmerized to find such a wonderful community here. Love your content and recommendations. Great video as always!! :) Love from India!
I’ve never been so early! You got me into reading fantasy, and just reading in general! LOVE these kinds of videos. Just finished Warbreaker and can’t wait to start mistborn and beyond!
Hey there, great fella! I am fairly new to fantasy, I have only read the LoTR, Hobbit, PJO, HP and a few other books like Song of Achilles and Circe. Definitely want to go on more into fantasy! Though I barely get the chances to buy books, going to buy Dune: Messiah and The Silmarillion on December 10th, my birthday! Been watching your channel for a good while now, love all your videos, especially these collabs! Love from India! 💙
I haven’t seen the video but I’m willing to bet Brandon Sanderson, George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Tolkien and mayyyybe Robin Hobb and RF Kuang are all included
Unfortunately there aren't many quality fantasy series out there lol. The genre was fairly niche previously and now that it's expanded it's just bombarded by Y.A trash and "Romantasy."
@@alb0zfinest There is a lot more fantasy now to choose from than there has ever been, what are you talking about? Not even talking about Romantasy because it's always been more of a Romance subgenre than a fantasy one. And fantasy series from the past haven't just disappeared
There's plenty of other good series too, but in terms of recommendations it's only to be expected the same ones to pop up everywhere. If you look at a list of "best fantasy books/series of all times" I guarantee you the top 10% of entries will have gotten 90% of the votes. If you want some lesser known recommendations, just look for exactly that. "Best fantasy books you never heard of", "best underappreciated fantasy", search strings like that. Also, not every book or series I personally really like makes for a good recommendation. I'm never going to suggest Malazan to someone new to the genre, for instance. I wouldn't even recommend Tolkien if it weren't for the fact that it's so mainstream - I don't think the style is a good fit for someone just starting out with fantasy, to be honest. This is why you'll so often see Sanderson mentioned, I think. Most of his books are a B+ for me, but they all read very easily. That makes them better intro books than something like Tad Williams, which I like better; the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy is fantastic in my view, but it's an old school slowly developing style that isn't as likely to keep someone reading as one of the more modern series might.
Thanks to you and Mike I've read like 20 new books so far this year. Turned me onto Ryan Cahill, Christopher Ruocchio, John Gwynne, and Frank Herbert. Thanks guys!
thank you for mentioning The Dark Tower. I read a lot, and I read from many genres and from Nobel winners to lovely regency romance. The Dark Tower series are on my absolute top five of all books I have ever read. The scope of it - that King har written them over a huge chunk of his life, that they sort of reflect both his life and his body of work - is mind-blowing. The writing is - I have no words. The storytelling, the imagination, just everything is on the highest possible shelve. The ending...... oh the ending..... The love story so tenderly described in book 4 in contrast to all the violence. King can literally write anything! This is a masterclass in storytelling that is going to be hard to top. And I finally see it on book tube, so thank you again. Kind reading regards from Hanne in Denmark
I was sure I was going to see a Petrik recommendation for The Faithful and the Fallen on here. Great list of Booktubers and recs, but I am shocked Johan! Shocked!
I am totally amazed that you included The Wheel of Time, yet did NOT mention the Black Company Series by Glen Cook. Especially since three of the recommendations were "grim dark"! From MY perspective of 70 years of reading SF&F, the group of you are only reading the same 6 authors, and haven't found any of the OTHER good stuff, Like Charles DeLint, Robert Howard, Lin Carter, Sprague DeCamp, Michael Moorcock, Roger Zelazney, Mercedes Lackey, Ann McCaffery, C.J. Cherrry, Janey Wurts, Marrion Zimmer Bradley, Jo Clayton, Lynn Abbey, or Lois Bujold. I could go on but will stop there. I will admit to being somewhat intrigued by the contents of the bookshelf behind you - a possible future vid that would interest me and I'm sure others, is what you have in your personal collection.
Interesting perspective, I wonder if part of the reason the same series are always mentioned has to do with the age of this subculture on RUclips. So many of the popular booktubers (and their viewers) are fairly young adults in their late 20's-mid 30's. Most of the same series by the same authors get mentioned because we haven't yet explored all the other series the genre has on offer. You've got a whole 40-50 years more expereince to draw from! When the same series are constantly getting mentions on top 10 lists it makes it easy to read those first before branching out to less well-known series. The cynical side of me wonders if some of those other books are just not as good/memorable as the ones on this list. I'm sure that's not the only reason, but as someone who has read The Dragonriders of Pern trilogy by Anne McCaffery I have to admit I probably wouldn't include it as one of my top 10 recommended reads. That being said I would love to see some booktubers make videos on "Underrated/Less Popular series that deserve a read"; I would 100% include that trilogy in my own version of that video.
WoT's last book was published in 2012, and that already makes it rather old for a recommendation (it helps that there's a current series on Amazon, even if that isn't very good). Most of the others you mention haven't published anything this century, and a lot of it won't be available in brick&mortar bookstores unless you order them. Recommendations tend towards well-known classics like LotR or books/series that were published in the last decade or so. Plus, there's only so many hours in the day: people are going to read what's currently being marketed first, and will dip into older series when that well runs dry - which for many is rarely or never.
I think people have trouble getting into the series not because it isn't good but because it is too grimdark. I think people recognize its influence but there are many authors who were influential but don't fit with modern tastes as much. I tried Zelazney, Moorcock, Cook, and some others but they didn't resonate as much with me as Vance, Lewis, Leiber and others. Personally I think Abercrombie is unmatched among modern authors or grimdark in general, but that's just one man's opinion.
I will have to check out that Lord of the Rings video later... because I'm currently rereding! I cant believe I've waited 30 years to read this again. I think your discussion with Philip will add to the experience! 💙📚☺️📖💙
Loved the video, one of my favorite authors, and former teacher gave me a sneak peek to an African Fantasy book that he is planning to release on March 7th next year, and it is really amazig with his magic system, which he made 4 languages for the series he is writing, called The Word of Y’Neshu The Heart of The Ijeya
I'll have to give The Ninth Rain a try. I had read the goodreads synopsis before and thought it was kinda cliche and boring, but this gives it a completely new light.
Great list you have assembled here. And because that series doesn't get enough love, just let me point out that Jen Williams won the British fantasy awards a secont time with The Bitter Twins, part 2 of the Winnowing Flame trilogy. And she is actually a three time winner now, haveing won again with Talonsister, part 1 of the Talon duology. By the way, the second part just got released today. I haven't read Ken Liu yet, but with that in mind, I think Jen Williams is a very strong competitor for most underrated fantasy author, because barely now one talks about her, from my impression even less than about Liu, and she really deserves better. As an aside, the BFAs showcase so many incredible writers, so while I've already made plans for 2025 (including a reread of Wheel of Time). I'm thinking about challenging myself with reading up on all the stuff that has won that award (and the shortlist nominees).
I finished book 1 a bit ago. Took me something like 8 months because I have the attention span of a drunk snail but it was really good, and it works decently well as a standalone. Do skip the "Ravens" section at the start of newer editions tho
Keep in mind, this is my personal opinion, but... No. It started good but as the time goes by, characters just become more and more stupid and annoying to the point that I had just one main character I liked at the beginning of book 6. I quit the series at about half the book 6 and I'm sad since I lost so much time for it. Some side notes: - the world is very big, but most of the cultures feel the same with a bit of different aesthetic slapped on them - the villains are mostly boring and "evil because they are evil" - most of the problems would be easily solved just by the main characters (who are supposedly friends and comrades) talking to each other - all the romance is basically love at first site and that's that There are so many much better books and series out there, do not waste your time on this.
I highly recommend the audiobooks, too. They help with the section referred to as “the slog.” I reread this series every couple years. There are scenes in book 14 foreshadowed in book 1. Genuine character growth throughout. Amazing series with exquisite payoffs.
Rotfuss must be the most hated author on social media. I was interested in the Name of the wind before I read the ongoing saga of how he is treating his fans so I won't be putting a penny in the guys pocket.
I started WoT based on how much booktubers recommended it and I really like what I’ve read so far, but I’ve been stuck at Winter’s Heart for more than a year with no progress…😭
And the SLOG begins... It is HORRIFIC and will be so boring from this point...😅 The worst series EVER considering the hype and number of recommendations... Maybe it's me and my taste, but I passionately DISLIKE it...
@@volinad129 You aren't alone. It might be a decent read if an editor took it down to 4 or 5 volumes, but as is it's an almost unreadable mess. It's plain to see that Jordan was both his own editor and getting paid by the word.
@@hannahbrennan2131Books 11 and 12 are pretty bad too. Book 14 was a major disappointment, and it sucks they chose Sanderson who is a horrendous writer to finish the series. I can't believe I invested 14books with hundreds of pages for such a big disappointment.
A big thumbs up for Tim Powers. His writing "voice" is distinct and unlike any other author. The Anubis Gates was my favorite Powers book, until I read Declare.
I never read Brandon Sanderson yet but been thinking about it and mistborn is what I been thinking about but idk a lot about Sanderson to know what he's like but I suppose I only have one way to find out
Love Malazan. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless I was sure it'd be a good fit for them. A lot of people, even seasoned fantasy readers, don't even make it through the first book.
Have you heard of this series called Lord of the Rings? If not, you should read it. Its truly an underrated classic and there are plenty of things i found in this book that remind me so much of modern fantasy.
Are you the one who suggest read Auther Tad Williams?? And said he is Underrated?? I read first book of his Otherland series....If it was you very much thankful to you... It was a phenomenal experience going through a Science Fantasy world which is new for me💚
How about checking something different, something new. Leave your comfort zones for once? Here is a recommendation of something at the very least unlike anything you ever read before: Buried Planet - the following forever,
The dark tower has the worst ending ive ever read. First series i ever read so it really stung. Book 2,3, and 4 were great thogh. Espscially 4. Best romance ive read
@Viksbelle nah id say IT had the best ending. Read over 20 king books and that for me was the best. Ik the ending to DT is loved by some but for me its hot garbage.
I don't understand how this works exactly? Have they sent you this as a recommendation or are these just clips of recommendations they did on their channel. And if so, did you then just choose which one you pick of all the recommended books of each channel? Like what is this list lol.
Why is Tolkien so good after 75 years? Why are Charles Dickens and Jane Austin good after 200 years? Great writing is great writing, and 75 years is nothing in the grand scheme of things.
To be honest we will see a sharp decline in quality literature in the coming years with many good premises for fiction but middling execution, not terrible, just nothing profound and deeply memorable, this is because technology does not allow anyone to think deeply enough or long enough to create a magnum opus, and on the occasions that they do, they must compete with those releasing decent-ish books every 6 months. The reason lord of the rings and Pride and Prejudice are so infamous is not only that they were very innovative in their genres and provided something refreshing and extraordinary, but also because the only medium back than was to read and write, no radio, no television, no internet, so the books became foundational to the societies of that time since they were literally the best of all media, new books, no matter how good, will never enjoy that limelight again, and as a result the industry itself will attract a different audience, many creatives who really want their vision to bee seen and heard got into film, and now they take to various platforms on the internet, since they want many people to engage with their works, it can’t be helped.
@@zrakonthekrakon494As far as fantasy goes, once George RR Martin dies, quality fantasy is dead. I don't think even Martin can compare to Tolkien but at least in its own genre it was something profound and extremely clever. In the fantasy genre it will continue to be influential, but certainly won't have the cross genre appeal that Tolkien has.
@@zrakonthekrakon494 You mean "famous", not "infamous." There was radio in abundance and movies on the silver screen when Tolkien was writing, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (kind of like Bilbo Baggins and the 13 Dwarves). The movie/cartoon was released in 1938. Also, The Wizard of Oz was released in1939 - and there were little people called Munchkins (like hobbits) who lived in a magical land called Oz (like Middle Earth), a haunted forest (like Mirkwood), as well as living trees (like Ents) throwing apples at Dorothy, and flying minions looking for the protagonist, Dorothy (kind of like Nazgul and crebain searching for Frodo). Dorothy was on a quest (for the broomstick) like Frodo (ring), and neither could go back home until their quest was completed. Both were sad to be leaving the magical land at the end of the story..
Hot take: Tolkien isn't "so good after 75 years". Don't get me wrong, I love Tolkien, but that style of writing and fantasy has aged quite a bit. The same goes for Dickens and Austen. Still good books, but most of the reason they're being read anymore is the fact that they're well-known classics. I still recommend Tolkien to new fantasy readers, but really mostly just because they're already familiar with his works through the movies and (hopefully not) the Amazon series. They know it's good, so they're more likely to stick with it until they're hooked where lesser known but also great books that fail to grab them quickly might get set aside.
Almost dnf'd it halfway through but by the end I gave it 3 stars because of a slightly stronger finish. It was my first Sando book and I can only hope I like his other stuff more.
Lots of generic archetypes. The not-like-other-girls character who ends up really liking the girly things. The thief with a heart of gold. The prince who is actually trying to help the common man. It's a great series for people who haven't read much, because then these things might seem new or interesting.
I honestly don’t understand the Brandon Sanderson hype. He just writes a lot of books. Mistborn is a good fantasy introduction, I will give it that, since it is pretty simplistic and straightforward. The writing is kind of poor compared to other fantasy books out there tho. He tends to over explain and repeats information SO much that parts of it are just a slog. Mistborn was predictable, so was Wok. I still plan on reading all of his books since they’re not terrible but also not amazing
I agree, I heard a lot of good stuff about mistborn and I just didn’t understand why it was beloved when I read it. The characters felt surface level, the middle of all three books were slow with not much happening and I found that the story and themes lacked depth
The Stormlight Archive. The Way of Kings is the most overhyped book I've ever read. 1000 pages book can be reduced to 300 pages book. Sanderson can't write characters at all. Sanderson must take lessons from Joe Abercrombie how to write characters. Maybe when he masters that art, he will take one more lesson - how to write concise, witty, to the point.
I started reading Wheel of Time because of Daniel's recommendation on his channel and I think it is THE WORST fantasy series I ever read with so much undeserving hype that it is insane! 😂😅 So slow, so boring at times, to long, so many characters just for sake of having them, some plotlines that are totally irrelevant and unnecessary for the main story, too many distractions and too inconsistent and at the and so many UNRESOLVED or rushed character arcs that for a 14 book series is unforgivable... And don't even let me start on slog and artificial and superficial romances...Also, I stopped following his channel because I don't believe in his taste for fantasy anymore. You can like WoT, but NO CHANCE it can be your no.1 as it objectively has so(too) many flaws...and not to mention that it is blatant ripoff of Tolkien in first couple of books...
Maybe the book is similar to books like Eragon. It's not that good, it's a cheap copy of Lord of the Rings, but to some people, it's one of the first fantasy books they read. As adults, it might be something they think of fondly. I've heard people say Wheel of Time is very slow paced, and hard to read at times. I've thought about reading it but can't convince myself to try it at the moment. But it's nice to hear both sides
@tiggert4002 I wouldn't recommend it to anyone... But that is my taste and my opinion. Basically it is a 23 book series, at least where I am from, because majority of the books are published in two volumes and AT LEAST half of them are rubbish... So I think you can read SEVERAL great fantasy novels/series for the amount of pages and books that WoT has... I read the Witcher Saga that nobody on booktube mentions in their top 10 and still it was more enjoyable and a far better experience for me than this...also I switched to SF a bit to mix it up a little... Solaris was really interesting although only 220 pages...so you can read 15 to 20 books Instead of reading WoT 😅
The Wheel of Time books 2-6 were actually fairly impressive. The scope, the unsaid messages and the amount of hard magic involved really was very entertaining. It went down hill after book 6 and by the end, book 14, Sanderson had completely destroyed anything of value in it.
@@alb0zfinest Totally agree, first few books were awesome... But then it collapses... It is a huge mess of disappointments and some good moments... It is not EPIC it is just too long without an editor... I remember I couldn't find book 12: Crossroads of Twilight anywhere, and I really tried. When I saw all the negative reviews, I decided just to read short synopsis and plot resolution of the book online and didn't miss anything after continuing reading... 😅
We all look so happy with our book darlings! Thank you for highlighting some of the books that inspire us to be here in this community, Johan!
Unfortunately, I could not highlight Malazan haha! Thanks for everything you do for the community!
@ Ha ha! No worries! If we all loved all of the same books all of the time, it would be a boring world.
dude this is a great video (dark tower mentioned!!!)
@@ManCarryingThing Thank you, mate!
You're not really a booktuber anymore?
Hi Viking, i just started reading fantasy 3-4 months ago and was mesmerized to find such a wonderful community here. Love your content and recommendations. Great video as always!! :)
Love from India!
This is such a nice comment. Thank you so much!
YESSSS please keep spreading the Dandelion Dynasty love, it's so underrated
Yes, absolutely!
I’ve never been so early! You got me into reading fantasy, and just reading in general! LOVE these kinds of videos. Just finished Warbreaker and can’t wait to start mistborn and beyond!
Thank you so much. I am so glad I could help you fall in love with fantasy!
Hey there, great fella! I am fairly new to fantasy, I have only read the LoTR, Hobbit, PJO, HP and a few other books like Song of Achilles and Circe. Definitely want to go on more into fantasy! Though I barely get the chances to buy books, going to buy Dune: Messiah and The Silmarillion on December 10th, my birthday! Been watching your channel for a good while now, love all your videos, especially these collabs! Love from India! 💙
I know the rule, but I wanted the video to include :
The Library Ladder
Petrik Leo
Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews
Andrew's Wizardly Reads
Jonathan Koan
The Library ladder is so well read.
Every time I see a video like this it’s just the same o series in every one of them.
I haven’t seen the video but I’m willing to bet Brandon Sanderson, George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Tolkien and mayyyybe Robin Hobb and RF Kuang are all included
Fr like, are they going to talk about the same series forever ?
Unfortunately there aren't many quality fantasy series out there lol. The genre was fairly niche previously and now that it's expanded it's just bombarded by Y.A trash and "Romantasy."
@@alb0zfinest There is a lot more fantasy now to choose from than there has ever been, what are you talking about? Not even talking about Romantasy because it's always been more of a Romance subgenre than a fantasy one. And fantasy series from the past haven't just disappeared
There's plenty of other good series too, but in terms of recommendations it's only to be expected the same ones to pop up everywhere. If you look at a list of "best fantasy books/series of all times" I guarantee you the top 10% of entries will have gotten 90% of the votes. If you want some lesser known recommendations, just look for exactly that. "Best fantasy books you never heard of", "best underappreciated fantasy", search strings like that. Also, not every book or series I personally really like makes for a good recommendation. I'm never going to suggest Malazan to someone new to the genre, for instance. I wouldn't even recommend Tolkien if it weren't for the fact that it's so mainstream - I don't think the style is a good fit for someone just starting out with fantasy, to be honest. This is why you'll so often see Sanderson mentioned, I think. Most of his books are a B+ for me, but they all read very easily. That makes them better intro books than something like Tad Williams, which I like better; the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy is fantastic in my view, but it's an old school slowly developing style that isn't as likely to keep someone reading as one of the more modern series might.
Thanks to you and Mike I've read like 20 new books so far this year. Turned me onto Ryan Cahill, Christopher Ruocchio, John Gwynne, and Frank Herbert. Thanks guys!
This is the highest praise I can receive!
Very informative as well as being heartwarming to see your respect for your fellow literary reviewers.
I’ve never heard of that Pham girl… it’s shocking how big her channel is.
thank you for mentioning The Dark Tower. I read a lot, and I read from many genres and from Nobel winners to lovely regency romance. The Dark Tower series are on my absolute top five of all books I have ever read. The scope of it - that King har written them over a huge chunk of his life, that they sort of reflect both his life and his body of work - is mind-blowing. The writing is - I have no words. The storytelling, the imagination, just everything is on the highest possible shelve. The ending...... oh the ending..... The love story so tenderly described in book 4 in contrast to all the violence. King can literally write anything! This is a masterclass in storytelling that is going to be hard to top. And I finally see it on book tube, so thank you again. Kind reading regards from Hanne in Denmark
Awesome compilation, those are all bangers!
I was sure I was going to see a Petrik recommendation for The Faithful and the Fallen on here. Great list of Booktubers and recs, but I am shocked Johan! Shocked!
Subscribed! All these recommendations are gold❤
I am totally amazed that you included The Wheel of Time, yet did NOT mention the Black Company Series by Glen Cook. Especially since three of the recommendations were "grim dark"! From MY perspective of 70 years of reading SF&F, the group of you are only reading the same 6 authors, and haven't found any of the OTHER good stuff, Like Charles DeLint, Robert Howard, Lin Carter, Sprague DeCamp, Michael Moorcock, Roger Zelazney, Mercedes Lackey, Ann McCaffery, C.J. Cherrry, Janey Wurts, Marrion Zimmer Bradley, Jo Clayton, Lynn Abbey, or Lois Bujold. I could go on but will stop there.
I will admit to being somewhat intrigued by the contents of the bookshelf behind you - a possible future vid that would interest me and I'm sure others, is what you have in your personal collection.
Interesting perspective, I wonder if part of the reason the same series are always mentioned has to do with the age of this subculture on RUclips. So many of the popular booktubers (and their viewers) are fairly young adults in their late 20's-mid 30's. Most of the same series by the same authors get mentioned because we haven't yet explored all the other series the genre has on offer. You've got a whole 40-50 years more expereince to draw from! When the same series are constantly getting mentions on top 10 lists it makes it easy to read those first before branching out to less well-known series.
The cynical side of me wonders if some of those other books are just not as good/memorable as the ones on this list. I'm sure that's not the only reason, but as someone who has read The Dragonriders of Pern trilogy by Anne McCaffery I have to admit I probably wouldn't include it as one of my top 10 recommended reads. That being said I would love to see some booktubers make videos on "Underrated/Less Popular series that deserve a read"; I would 100% include that trilogy in my own version of that video.
WoT's last book was published in 2012, and that already makes it rather old for a recommendation (it helps that there's a current series on Amazon, even if that isn't very good). Most of the others you mention haven't published anything this century, and a lot of it won't be available in brick&mortar bookstores unless you order them. Recommendations tend towards well-known classics like LotR or books/series that were published in the last decade or so. Plus, there's only so many hours in the day: people are going to read what's currently being marketed first, and will dip into older series when that well runs dry - which for many is rarely or never.
I think people have trouble getting into the series not because it isn't good but because it is too grimdark. I think people recognize its influence but there are many authors who were influential but don't fit with modern tastes as much. I tried Zelazney, Moorcock, Cook, and some others but they didn't resonate as much with me as Vance, Lewis, Leiber and others. Personally I think Abercrombie is unmatched among modern authors or grimdark in general, but that's just one man's opinion.
I will have to check out that Lord of the Rings video later... because I'm currently rereding! I cant believe I've waited 30 years to read this again.
I think your discussion with Philip will add to the experience!
💙📚☺️📖💙
Loved the video, one of my favorite authors, and former teacher gave me a sneak peek to an African Fantasy book that he is planning to release on March 7th next year, and it is really amazig with his magic system, which he made 4 languages for the series he is writing, called The Word of Y’Neshu The Heart of The Ijeya
For part two you can include Matt‘s Fantasy Book Reviews recommending The Wandering Inn Series
I'll have to give The Ninth Rain a try. I had read the goodreads synopsis before and thought it was kinda cliche and boring, but this gives it a completely new light.
I thought you'd say A Song of Ice and Fire when I first saw Mike's Book Reviews in the timestamp lol
Interesting concept! Maybe for another video you could invite viewers/patrons for their favourite recommendations that *you* have given…?
Great list you have assembled here. And because that series doesn't get enough love, just let me point out that Jen Williams won the British fantasy awards a secont time with The Bitter Twins, part 2 of the Winnowing Flame trilogy. And she is actually a three time winner now, haveing won again with Talonsister, part 1 of the Talon duology. By the way, the second part just got released today. I haven't read Ken Liu yet, but with that in mind, I think Jen Williams is a very strong competitor for most underrated fantasy author, because barely now one talks about her, from my impression even less than about Liu, and she really deserves better.
As an aside, the BFAs showcase so many incredible writers, so while I've already made plans for 2025 (including a reread of Wheel of Time). I'm thinking about challenging myself with reading up on all the stuff that has won that award (and the shortlist nominees).
Thank you! Jen Williams is definitely underrated!
Love the covert bonhoeffer recommendation hahaha
Hey, man. Great video! I’ve been loving your content. Question for you: have you read or are you planning on reading Sun Eater?
Thank you. I am hoping to start it next year!
Should I start reading WoT?
Why not.Its amazing.😊
I finished book 1 a bit ago. Took me something like 8 months because I have the attention span of a drunk snail but it was really good, and it works decently well as a standalone. Do skip the "Ravens" section at the start of newer editions tho
@@thijmendol8248 It took me around 2 years to finish the series.😁
Keep in mind, this is my personal opinion, but... No. It started good but as the time goes by, characters just become more and more stupid and annoying to the point that I had just one main character I liked at the beginning of book 6. I quit the series at about half the book 6 and I'm sad since I lost so much time for it.
Some side notes:
- the world is very big, but most of the cultures feel the same with a bit of different aesthetic slapped on them
- the villains are mostly boring and "evil because they are evil"
- most of the problems would be easily solved just by the main characters (who are supposedly friends and comrades) talking to each other
- all the romance is basically love at first site and that's that
There are so many much better books and series out there, do not waste your time on this.
I highly recommend the audiobooks, too. They help with the section referred to as “the slog.” I reread this series every couple years. There are scenes in book 14 foreshadowed in book 1. Genuine character growth throughout. Amazing series with exquisite payoffs.
Did you say you haven't read Name of the Wind yet? It's so, so, so special. Nothing like it. You'll fall in love with Kvothe.
Rotfuss must be the most hated author on social media. I was interested in the Name of the wind before I read the ongoing saga of how he is treating his fans so I won't be putting a penny in the guys pocket.
Mike'sbookreviews got me into ASOIAF, Daniel Greene got me into the wheel of time
Mistborn is my second favorite series
Not having the book guy is diabolical
I started WoT based on how much booktubers recommended it and I really like what I’ve read so far, but I’ve been stuck at Winter’s Heart for more than a year with no progress…😭
And the SLOG begins... It is HORRIFIC and will be so boring from this point...😅 The worst series EVER considering the hype and number of recommendations... Maybe it's me and my taste, but I passionately DISLIKE it...
@@volinad129 You aren't alone. It might be a decent read if an editor took it down to 4 or 5 volumes, but as is it's an almost unreadable mess. It's plain to see that Jordan was both his own editor and getting paid by the word.
Speaking as a fan of WOT, that's completely fair. Books 7-10 were in serious need of an editor.
@@hannahbrennan2131 Holy crap! That's Most of the series. Reviews like this are what keep me away.
@@hannahbrennan2131Books 11 and 12 are pretty bad too. Book 14 was a major disappointment, and it sucks they chose Sanderson who is a horrendous writer to finish the series. I can't believe I invested 14books with hundreds of pages for such a big disappointment.
A few authors more under read than Ken Liu:
John Crowley
Sofia Samatar
Sean Stewart (especially for Galveston)
Tim Powers (especially Declare)
A big thumbs up for Tim Powers. His writing "voice" is distinct and unlike any other author. The Anubis Gates was my favorite Powers book, until I read Declare.
I never read Brandon Sanderson yet but been thinking about it and mistborn is what I been thinking about but idk a lot about Sanderson to know what he's like but I suppose I only have one way to find out
Not sure if they said the entire eye of the world series but its the entire series
Stephen Edwin King (not Reginald).
No Malazan?
He's DNF'd the seriesmpartway through Deadhouse Gates
Love Malazan. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless I was sure it'd be a good fit for them. A lot of people, even seasoned fantasy readers, don't even make it through the first book.
You don't recommend Malazan, you take up the challenge.
@@janartoos2744It's probably not great for people who distain "mystery box" storytelling too.
No Petrik Leo? 😱
Have you heard of this series called Lord of the Rings? If not, you should read it. Its truly an underrated classic and there are plenty of things i found in this book that remind me so much of modern fantasy.
Are you the one who suggest read Auther Tad Williams?? And said he is Underrated?? I read first book of his Otherland series....If it was you very much thankful to you... It was a phenomenal experience going through a Science Fantasy world which is new for me💚
How about checking something different, something new. Leave your comfort zones for once? Here is a recommendation of something at the very least unlike anything you ever read before: Buried Planet - the following forever,
The dark tower has the worst ending ive ever read. First series i ever read so it really stung. Book 2,3, and 4 were great thogh. Espscially 4. Best romance ive read
And yet it has the best ending King ever wrote.
@Viksbelle nah id say IT had the best ending. Read over 20 king books and that for me was the best. Ik the ending to DT is loved by some but for me its hot garbage.
@@ashleyholbird4287Salem's Lot had a good ending too. A depressing ending, certainly, but quite realistic for what the book was.
No comments?
Lemme fix it
Hehe thank you :)
I don't understand how this works exactly? Have they sent you this as a recommendation or are these just clips of recommendations they did on their channel. And if so, did you then just choose which one you pick of all the recommended books of each channel? Like what is this list lol.
Why is Tolkien so good after 75 years? Why are Charles Dickens and Jane Austin good after 200 years? Great writing is great writing, and 75 years is nothing in the grand scheme of things.
To be honest we will see a sharp decline in quality literature in the coming years with many good premises for fiction but middling execution, not terrible, just nothing profound and deeply memorable, this is because technology does not allow anyone to think deeply enough or long enough to create a magnum opus, and on the occasions that they do, they must compete with those releasing decent-ish books every 6 months. The reason lord of the rings and Pride and Prejudice are so infamous is not only that they were very innovative in their genres and provided something refreshing and extraordinary, but also because the only medium back than was to read and write, no radio, no television, no internet, so the books became foundational to the societies of that time since they were literally the best of all media, new books, no matter how good, will never enjoy that limelight again, and as a result the industry itself will attract a different audience, many creatives who really want their vision to bee seen and heard got into film, and now they take to various platforms on the internet, since they want many people to engage with their works, it can’t be helped.
@@zrakonthekrakon494As far as fantasy goes, once George RR Martin dies, quality fantasy is dead. I don't think even Martin can compare to Tolkien but at least in its own genre it was something profound and extremely clever. In the fantasy genre it will continue to be influential, but certainly won't have the cross genre appeal that Tolkien has.
@@zrakonthekrakon494 You mean "famous", not "infamous." There was radio in abundance and movies on the silver screen when Tolkien was writing, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (kind of like Bilbo Baggins and the 13 Dwarves). The movie/cartoon was released in 1938. Also, The Wizard of Oz was released in1939 - and there were little people called Munchkins (like hobbits) who lived in a magical land called Oz (like Middle Earth), a haunted forest (like Mirkwood), as well as living trees (like Ents) throwing apples at Dorothy, and flying minions looking for the protagonist, Dorothy (kind of like Nazgul and crebain searching for Frodo). Dorothy was on a quest (for the broomstick) like Frodo (ring), and neither could go back home until their quest was completed. Both were sad to be leaving the magical land at the end of the story..
Hot take: Tolkien isn't "so good after 75 years". Don't get me wrong, I love Tolkien, but that style of writing and fantasy has aged quite a bit. The same goes for Dickens and Austen. Still good books, but most of the reason they're being read anymore is the fact that they're well-known classics. I still recommend Tolkien to new fantasy readers, but really mostly just because they're already familiar with his works through the movies and (hopefully not) the Amazon series. They know it's good, so they're more likely to stick with it until they're hooked where lesser known but also great books that fail to grab them quickly might get set aside.
@@janartoos2744 No, I agree, Tolkien isn't "good" ...he is GREAT! (that is my Hot Take).
mistborn>stormlight
Daniel is a cutie
I feel I'm in the minority, i have always found Mistborn to be pretty weak. Charafter writing is awful
You are in the minority, and that's ok.
Mistborn is a fun romp, but it’s teeball compared to Stormlight
Almost dnf'd it halfway through but by the end I gave it 3 stars because of a slightly stronger finish. It was my first Sando book and I can only hope I like his other stuff more.
Lots of generic archetypes. The not-like-other-girls character who ends up really liking the girly things. The thief with a heart of gold. The prince who is actually trying to help the common man. It's a great series for people who haven't read much, because then these things might seem new or interesting.
I honestly don’t understand the Brandon Sanderson hype. He just writes a lot of books. Mistborn is a good fantasy introduction, I will give it that, since it is pretty simplistic and straightforward. The writing is kind of poor compared to other fantasy books out there tho. He tends to over explain and repeats information SO much that parts of it are just a slog. Mistborn was predictable, so was Wok. I still plan on reading all of his books since they’re not terrible but also not amazing
I agree, I heard a lot of good stuff about mistborn and I just didn’t understand why it was beloved when I read it. The characters felt surface level, the middle of all three books were slow with not much happening and I found that the story and themes lacked depth
The Stormlight Archive. The Way of Kings is the most overhyped book I've ever read.
1000 pages book can be reduced to 300 pages book.
Sanderson can't write characters at all.
Sanderson must take lessons from Joe Abercrombie how to write characters. Maybe when he masters that art, he will take one more lesson - how to write concise, witty, to the point.
He has a different writing style… that’s it. Not everyone needs to be Joe Abercrombie.
@PeoplePleaser578 You are right.
I started reading Wheel of Time because of Daniel's recommendation on his channel and I think it is THE WORST fantasy series I ever read with so much undeserving hype that it is insane! 😂😅 So slow, so boring at times, to long, so many characters just for sake of having them, some plotlines that are totally irrelevant and unnecessary for the main story, too many distractions and too inconsistent and at the and so many UNRESOLVED or rushed character arcs that for a 14 book series is unforgivable... And don't even let me start on slog and artificial and superficial romances...Also, I stopped following his channel because I don't believe in his taste for fantasy anymore. You can like WoT, but NO CHANCE it can be your no.1 as it objectively has so(too) many flaws...and not to mention that it is blatant ripoff of Tolkien in first couple of books...
Maybe the book is similar to books like Eragon. It's not that good, it's a cheap copy of Lord of the Rings, but to some people, it's one of the first fantasy books they read. As adults, it might be something they think of fondly. I've heard people say Wheel of Time is very slow paced, and hard to read at times. I've thought about reading it but can't convince myself to try it at the moment. But it's nice to hear both sides
@tiggert4002 I wouldn't recommend it to anyone... But that is my taste and my opinion. Basically it is a 23 book series, at least where I am from, because majority of the books are published in two volumes and AT LEAST half of them are rubbish... So I think you can read SEVERAL great fantasy novels/series for the amount of pages and books that WoT has... I read the Witcher Saga that nobody on booktube mentions in their top 10 and still it was more enjoyable and a far better experience for me than this...also I switched to SF a bit to mix it up a little... Solaris was really interesting although only 220 pages...so you can read 15 to 20 books Instead of reading WoT 😅
The Wheel of Time books 2-6 were actually fairly impressive. The scope, the unsaid messages and the amount of hard magic involved really was very entertaining. It went down hill after book 6 and by the end, book 14, Sanderson had completely destroyed anything of value in it.
@@alb0zfinest Totally agree, first few books were awesome... But then it collapses... It is a huge mess of disappointments and some good moments... It is not EPIC it is just too long without an editor... I remember I couldn't find book 12: Crossroads of Twilight anywhere, and I really tried. When I saw all the negative reviews, I decided just to read short synopsis and plot resolution of the book online and didn't miss anything after continuing reading... 😅
What is your favourite fantasy book? What is one you would recommend
Goon
YESSSS please keep spreading the Dandelion Dynasty love, it's so underrated